Wales most famous Olympians have called for Cardiff’s Olympic rings to be given a prime spot in the Welsh capital after the games have finished.

Wales’ most famous Olympians have called for Cardiff’s Olympic rings to be given a prime spot in the city after the games have finished.

It is understood £300,000 structure installed for the duration of the 2012 Games outside City Hall has not yet been found a permanent home.

And top Welsh athletes called on the authorities to ensure the rings are given a prominent spot in the city to inspire future generations of sportsmen and women and keep the legacy of these phenomenally successful Games alive.

Double golden boy Geraint Thomas, the Cardiff cyclist who won his second Olympic Gold in the team pursuit, said the rings could keep the memory of team GB’s incredible achievements at the Games alive.

The 26-year-old star said: “It would be great if they could keep them. People talk about the legacy of the Olympics and inspiring people and I think that would help do that for sure. Hopefully a lot of kids will be inspired to take up sport after seeing their fellow countrymen do well, so anything that can help that would be great.”

Lynn Davies, known as “Lynn the Leap” after his 1964 long jump victory in Tokyo, said he thought the rings were “absolutely brilliant”.

Having carried the Olympic flame in Cardiff during the torch relay earlier this year, Mr Davies said the rings represented the fact Wales had a “real share” in the Games.

The UK Athletics president said: “It would be very, very nice indeed to have them somewhere as a permanent legacy.

“It would be a great, great shame indeed if they disappeared completely. I would love to see them stay as a permanent reminder of Wales’ involvement in the Games – it’s a once in a lifetime thing.”

The five three-tonne rings are likely to cost at least £40,000 to rehouse and no sports organisation in Cardiff has yet been willing to provide the funds.

They will be replaced next week by the three, stylistic curves of the Paralympic agitos.

The most decorated Welsh Paralympian, 11 time gold medallist Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, said the rings should stay in the city.

Tanni said: “I think it would be lovely to keep them. Cardiff should be proud of the role they played in the games.”

Olympic silver medal winner and Cardiff resident Jamie Baulch said: “We’ve had such a fantastic games, it would be a nice reminder and a good way to keep the spirit alive in our city. It would fulfil the legacy.”

One of the bodies that might install the rings at one of its venues, Sport Wales, said the cost of rehousing the rings was simply too much for its budgets as it would have to cut funding for grass roots sports.

Chief executive Dr Huw Jones said: “We hope that a suitable site can be found and that the rings and agitos – which have proven popular in Cardiff – get a permanent Welsh home.”

Cardiff council said the matter was under discussion but no decision had been taken.

Olympic diver Rob Morgan, from Cardiff, who competed at four successive summer Olympic games between 1984 and 1996, said: “They have got to go somewhere. I think they should go to a sports place whether it’s the athletics stadium or the swimming pool. The National Institute in Sophia Gardens isn’t the largest sports centre but it is the national sports centre.”

Gold medal winning Paralympian Simon Richardson, from Porthcawl, said: “It would be inspirational to see the rings in Cardiff. and would realise what has been done.

“Outside City Hall, even school trips would be able to see the rings from Cardiff Castle. They should definitely be kept – definitely.”

Rob Cole, a trustee from the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, said the effect of the rings on future generations of athletes would be “priceless” if they were to stand in a prominent location.

If no public body is willing to pay the cost of housing the rings, these iconic sculptures which, in total, took 1,500 hours to design, engineer and build, will go, unused, in storage.

Next page: No decisions yet for Olympic rings

No decisions yet for Olympic rings

No decisions have yet been taken on what will be done with the Olympic rings outside City Hall, it is understood.

After the Games finish this weekend, work will start to replace the eight-metre tall, 18-metre wide, three-tonne multi-coloured rings with the agitos – the symbol of the Paralympic Games. The agitos will be unveiled on August 17, ahead the start of the Games on August 29.

But none of the sporting organisations or authorities in Wales’ have been willing to provide the £300,000 Olympic rings with a permanent home. It’s believed removing and installing them elsewhere in the capital could cost around £40,000. It is understood a decision will be taken which will involve the city council and the games’ organising committee LOCOG, but only after the games finish.

It is understood that, in the meantime, they could go into storage but, again, there has been no decision made on where that would be.

It had been hoped the rings, which have proved popular in their current spot outside City Hall, would be rehoused after the games alongside a plaque commemorating the participation of Welsh athletes.

Mooted sites included the Sport Wales National Centre in Sophia Gardens and The Sports Village in Cardiff Bay. and the Cardiff International Sports Stadium.

But Sport Wales says it can’t afford the £40,000 bill. LOCOG has also stipulated they can’t be rehoused by a commercial organisation and that ongoing costs of upkeep must be met.

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